The present invention relates to a paper processing device that transfers as well as discriminates papers such as bills and the like while transferring, and changes the transfer routes of papers according to the discriminating result, and more particularly to a device that is built in an automatic teller machine (hereinafter shortly referred to as xe2x80x9cATMxe2x80x9d) that carries out transactions such as receipt of money, payment of money and the similar, and thereby processes bills.
In an ATM, optical sensors and magnetic sensors and the similar are arranged in its discriminating portion, and dimensions of papers that go through the discriminating portion, patterns and shading and the like of bills are detected and compared with a dictionary prepared in advance, thereby whether a bill is genuine or not is discriminated.
In such a discriminating portion of ATM, generally, an optical line sensor wherein multiple optical sensor devices are arranged in the direction crossing the passing direction of a bill that passes there is arranged, but when paper powder or a paper chip remains on the line sensor, sensor device output becomes faulty, which may lead to failure in correct detection on a bill that is to be transferred in next time and may cause a wrong discriminating result, or if the size of such residue is rather large, it may become an obstacle in transfer and cause transfer failure, or sensor devices may be considered to have been deteriorated, as a result, the emission light amount of light source that radiates light onto a bill in the case of the detection by the line sensor may be increased to excess, which has become problems.
Then, conventionally, countermeasures are taken such that, before the start of one transaction (receipt of money, payment of money and the similar), the output conditions of the line sensor are checked out, and if there is a faulty output, then the transaction is suspended.
However, according to the conventional methods, even when, for example, paper powder or a small paper chip (hereinafter represented by paper powder) which does not cause any transfer failure remains and the output of a sensor device configuring the line sensor is faulty, the transaction stops, therefore, in machines that often handle bills that have been circulated for a certain period, the number of stop failures owing to paper powder extremely increases, which has become another problem.
The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide a paper processing device wherein efforts are made so as to decrease stop failures.
A paper processing device of the present invention to achieve the above object is a paper processing device which comprises a discriminating portion to sense papers passing by a specified sensor, and by carrying out a discriminating process according to the result of the sensing to apply one of discriminating results plurally classified to the sensed papers, and wherein, in every process, one paper or more to be objectives of the one process is transferred one by one along a transfer route that passes through the discriminating portion, and a transfer route of each paper after passing through the discriminating portion is changed according to discriminating results at the discriminating portion, the paper processing device comprising,
a sensor output abnormality detecting portion that carries out a detecting process to detect that the output of the sensor is in a specified abnormal status according to the output of the sensor before the start of one process, and when the specified abnormal status is detected in the detecting process conducted before the start of the one process, further carries out a detecting process to detect the output of the sensor also after the start of the one process, and
a transfer control portion that starts the one process even when either of the specified abnormal status or normal status is detected in the initial detecting process conducted before the start of the one process by the sensor output abnormality detecting portion, and in the case where the specified abnormal status is detected in the initial detecting process, transfers papers that pass through the discriminating portion after the start of the one process until normal status is detected in the detecting process of the sensor output carried out after the start of the one process, along a transfer route corresponding to the specified abnormal status after they pass through the discriminating portion.
Paper powder (including a paper chip) left in the discriminating portion is transferred, while some papers are passing, with attached to the papers passing, or goes out of the view of the sensor.
A paper processing device according to the present invention is so made as to start paper transfer even when a specified abnormal status, for example when a sensor output abnormal status, to an extent that any transfer trouble is not caused, is detected. As a consequence, according to a paper processing device of the present invention, it is possible to greatly reduce the number of stop failures.
In a paper processing device according to the present invention, in the case where paper transfer is started though a sensor output abnormal status has been detected, papers that are transferred until the sensor output is recovered to normal status thereafter are transferred along a transfer route corresponding to such papers, thereby, it is possible to process these papers in manner as is different from the process for papers in normal status.
Herein, in the paper processing device according to the present invention, it is preferable that the discriminating portion carries out a discriminating process including a discriminating result that the paper is abnormal as one of the discriminating results, and
the transfer control portion transfers, in the case where the specified abnormal status is detected in the initial detecting process conducted before the start of one process by the sensor output abnormality detecting portion, papers that pass through the discriminating portion after the start of the one process until normal status is detected in the detecting process carried out after the start of the one process, along the same transfer route as the case wherein discriminating result that the paper is abnormal is obtained at the discriminating portion.
As mentioned above, at the moment when sensor output is abnormal owing to paper powder and the like, it is possible to handle papers that have passed through the discriminating portion in the same manner as when the discriminating portion obtains that papers are abnormal, without setting a separate transfer route.
In the paper processing device according to the present invention, it is preferred that the paper processing device further comprises a pool portion for storing papers that have been transferred along the transfer route corresponding to the specified abnormal status, and
the transfer control portion transfers again papers stored in the pool portion, after the sensor output abnormality detecting portion detects normal status, along the transfer route that passes through the discriminating route.
In this case, papers stored in the pool portion may be taken out from the pool portion and transferred again in the one process wherein they are stored in the pool portion, or may be stored in the pool portion in the one process, and papers stored in the pool portion may be transferred again in the next process.
Papers that pass through the discriminating portion when the sensor output is in an abnormal status cannot be discriminated correctly, accordingly, they are handled apart from normal papers, in the same manner as for abnormal papers for example, however, almost all of such papers are actually normal papers. Therefore, they are stored in the pool portion and transferred again as described above, thereby effective use of resources of papers in a device can be made.
Herein, in the paper processing device according to the present invention, the sensor output abnormality detecting portion may carry out the detecting process of the sensor output before the start of one process, and when a specified abnormal status is detected in the detecting process carried out before the start of the one process, it may carry out a detecting process at every time when one of papers to be objectives of the one process passes through the discriminating portion, after the start of the one process, and until the number of papers that pass through the discriminating portion reaches a specified one, and until normal status is detected by the sensor output abnormality detecting portion, or the sensor output abnormality detecting portion may carry out the detecting process of the sensor output before the start of one process, and when a specified abnormal status is detected in the detecting process carried out before the start of the one process, it may start the one process and carry out a detecting process after a specified number of papers to be objectives of the one process has passed through the discriminating portion.
At every time when one paper passes through the discriminating portion, it is detected whether sensor output has returned to normal status or not, thereby it is possible to minimize the number of papers on which a correct discrimination cannot be made at the discriminating portion. While, in the case where it is detected whether sensor output has returned to normal status after a specified number of papers is made to pass through the discriminating portion, thereby it is possible to transfer the specified number of papers continuously, as a result, it is possible to facilitate the speed of processing.
Further, in the paper processing device according to the present invention, it is also a preferred embodiment wherein it is enabled to freely transfer mock papers different from papers to be objectives of processing along a transfer route passing through the discriminating portion, and
the transfer control portion starts one process after a specified abnormal status is detected in the detecting process carried out before the start of one process by the sensor output abnormality detecting portion, and when it is detected that sensor output is still not back to normal status even in the detecting process carried out at a specified moment after the start of the one process, the transfer control portion suspends the transfer of papers after the specified moment among papers to be objectives of the one process, and transfers mock papers along a transfer route passing through the discriminating portion, and
the sensor output abnormality detecting portion carries out detecting process also after mock papers have passed through the discriminating portion.
By preparation of mock papers with adjusted materials and dimensions, paper powder and the similar are easily removed from the sensor position in comparison with papers to be objectives of normal processing. Accordingly, in the case where the sensor output will not get back to normal even after a specified number of normal papers is made to pass, it is preferable to pass mock papers and to remove paper powder and the like.
Herein, in the paper processing device according to the present invention, it is preferable that the sensor is typically a line sensor comprising plural sensor devices arranged in width direction crossing the paper passing direction at the discriminating portion, and in this case, the sensor output abnormality detecting portion detects that the output of a specified number or less of the sensor devices among the plural sensor devices is faulty as the specified abnormal status.
Thanks to the structure as mentioned above, it is possible to discriminate the case where a large paper chip or a paper itself that may cause transfer problem remains in the discriminating portion and the case where paper powder and the similar remains there, and thereby to carry out processing to remove paper powder and the similar as mentioned above only when there is no fear of transfer problem.
Still further, in the paper processing device according to the present invention, it is a preferred embodiment wherein the sensor output abnormality detecting portion carries out detecting processing wherein the specified abnormal status is further divided into a specified first abnormal status and a specified second abnormal status, for at least a detecting process to be carried out before the start of one process, and also carries out the detecting process of the sensor output also after the mock papers pass through the discriminating portion, and
the transfer control portion starts one process when either the first abnormal status among the specified abnormal statuses or normal status is detected in the initial detecting process carried out before the start of one process by the sensor output abnormality detecting portion, while when the second abnormal status among the specified abnormal statuses is detected in the initial detecting process, prior to the start of the one process, the transfer control portion transfers the mock papers along transfer route passing through the discriminating portion.
By judging whether paper powder and the similar can be removed by normal papers or whether it is better to pass mock papers, according to the conditions of faulty output, papers or mock papers are transferred according to such judgement, thereby it is possible to remove paper powder and the similar in more secured manners.
In this case, mock papers may be longer in the width direction crossing transfer direction than papers to be objectives of processing,
the sensor may be a line sensor comprising plural sensor devices arranged even to the position exceeding the passing area of papers to be objectives of processing, in the width direction crossing the passing direction of papers at the discriminating portion, and
the sensor output abnormality detecting portion may detect that the output of a specified number or less of the sensor devices among the plural sensor devices is faulty as a specified abnormal status, and detect the status wherein all the sensor devices with faulty output are sensor devices in the passing area of papers to be objectives of processing as a first abnormal status among the specified abnormal statuses, and also detects the status wherein sensor devices out of the passing area are included in the sensor devices with faulty output as a second abnormal status among the specified abnormal statuses.
When it is expected that there exists paper powder and the like on a position where they may be removed with normal papers, then normal papers are made to pass, thereby it is possible to facilitate the speed of processing higher, and also to avoid unnecessary use of mock papers as much as possible.
As mentioned heretofore, according to a paper processing device of the present invention, it is possible to significantly reduce the number of stop failures.